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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XI. 



appeared to him most inconvenient to put it off for so long 

 a time ; although in that remote Government it was a very 

 common evil, and for that reason the ultimate success of 

 many undertakings was marred, a thing easy to remedy if so 

 powerful and distant an official as the Viceroy of India had 

 taken upon himself to administer the power and juris- 

 diction of the Sovereign both in grace and justice. 



If merit gives the highest posts of the kingdom, it is useless 

 to elect the prudent, the wise, and the most valiant when 

 they are only made the executors and not the arbitrators ; 

 especially if the last orders and ultimate resolutions are 

 formed from the opinions of other ministers whose know- 

 ledge is gathered from information and reports which so 

 often arrive distorted and mutilated into their hands that 

 they render abortive the execution of them. Because in a 

 State there are many defects and shortcomings which demand 

 different remedies : sudden and unexpected ones require 

 prompt measures, and those which are more troublesome 

 and widespread require more time. But well-applied reme- 

 dies all require a perfect knowledge of the evil, whatever it 

 is, an experience of the cure and full understanding of the 

 treatment ; and these things are so essential that if anything 

 is left out the whole success and life of an undertaking 

 upon which might depend the welfare and safety of king- 

 doms is at stake. For many ill-applied remedies, without 

 proper care or forethought and without regard to time, are 

 often more disastrous than the evils themselves. 



